I have several questions about going from the Club TD to the Local TD and what it states:
“A total of three Category D tournament experience credits are required, as listed below in a1–a3, with the total number of players for all three tournaments summed together being 50 or greater”
Is the 3 tournaments and 50 players requirements separate? For example, if you run 4 tournaments with 15 players each, does this cover the requirement or does it not because 3 of the tournaments don’t add up to 50 players?
Local TD Testing Requirement.
“Objective test of moderate difficulty designed to measure the applicant’s knowledge of basic rules with a passing score of 80% or higher. Or, if the Local TD experience requirements (a-c)are met by a Club TD, scoring 80% or higher on a Club TD test.”
I’m confused by this statement. Don’t all TD’s wanting to go from a Club TD to a Local TD have to meet the experience requirements (or one of the substitutions listed in b and c), meaning that everyone could just take the Club TD test instead of the Local TD test?
3 tournaments totaling 50 players is the minimum. 4 events giving 50 players or more total also counts, etc.
Club TDs have to take the Club exam after 3 years in order to keep their certification. If they pass that exam at the lower bar, they get to stay a Club TD as long as they are active TDs (one event per year) and a current USCF member. If they pass the exam at the 80% level (the Club and Local exams are essentially the same) and they happen to meet the experience requirement, then they are upgraded to Local TD status automatically.
I’m not sure about your 1st question if you can count 4x15 tournaments to account for the 50 (although I would think yes), but as for your second question about Club TDs scoring 80%, this is for people who during their first 3-year term as club TD do not have enough credit to be promoted to local TD, but they still have to take a test to remain a club TD.
When they take the club TD test, if they score 80% or higher then they will become a local TD automatically (or at least upon request) once the experience requirements for Local TD are met, instead of being required to take the local TD test.
Example: Joe Schmoe becomes a club TD for the first time in 2009. He directs two twenty-player events in 2010 and 2011. When his three-year term expires in 2012, he does not have enough experience to become a local TD, so he takes the club TD test and passes with 90% and his club TD certification is extended another 3 years (to 2015). In 2014, he directs another tournament with twenty players, meaning he now meets the experience requirements for local TD. At this point, he emails TD certification to let them know that he now meets the requirements and he is automatically upgraded to Local TD without needing to take the local TD test.
I think Joe can remain a Club TD if he scores 70% or more and become a Local with a score of 80% or higher and meets the experience requirement. I believe the exam is exactly the same for both levels.
FANTASTIC IDEA. We have many very talented club tournament directors across our federation
who have not upgraded. Some states most active tournament directors are club tds.
Note that those 3 events have to be Swisses (category D–not quads, RRs, etc.). Below are the certification standards:
The Club Director
22. Experience Requirement.
An applicant for club TD accreditation must sign a statement indicating that he or she has read, has access to, and will abide by the rules contained in USCF’s Official Rules of Chess.
23. Testing Requirement.
None for the first three year term. Each three-year term thereafter an objective test of moderate difficulty must be passed at the 70% level.
24. Limitations.
A club TD may not be the Chief TD for USCF Grand Prix, Category N or Category I tournaments and should not be the Chief TD of Category A, B, or C tournaments, which includes any tournament, or section of a tournament, expected to draw more than 50 players. Computer assisted club TDs can be the Chief TD of any tournament, or section of a tournament, expected to draw up to 60 players with the aid of one assistant TD. IA and FA experience credit of any kind is unavailable at Category I tournaments.
25. Expiration.
Three-year renewable term. Every three years, the club TD may apply to extend the Club TD Certification for an additional three years. This three-year renewal requires that the applicant pass an objective test of moderate difficulty designed to measure the applicant’s knowledge of basic rules at the 70% level. Except for the first exam, which may not be waived, the testing requirement for re-certification is waived for a Club TD with satisfactory performance as the chief or chief assistant TD of three tournaments or a minimum of a single section at three different tournaments during the three-year term. Club TDs meeting the rating and directing experience requirements are encouraged to take the Local TD exam. Club TDs passing the Club TD exam at the 80% level that also meet the experience and rating requirements for Local TD certification may have their Club TD certification automatically upgraded to a Local TD certification.
The Local Director
26. Experience Requirements.
a. A total of three Category D tournament experience credits are required, as listed below in a1– a3, with the total number of players for all three tournaments summed together being 50 or greater:
a1. Satisfactory performance as Chief TD of one Category D tournament. No substitutions are allowed for this TD credit.
a2. Satisfactory performance as a Chief TD or chief assistant TD of a second additional Category D tournament of at least three rounds. No substitutions are allowed for this TD credit.
a3. Satisfactory performance as a Chief TD or chief assistant TD of a third additional Category D tournament of at least three rounds. A one-time substitution for this single TD experience credit is allowed as outlined in b1 – b4 below.
b. Any of the following may be substituted for the tournaments in requirement a3 as per the limitations imposed by sections b1 – b3:
b1. Satisfactory performance as a TD at either a Category D1 or D2 tournament can be used as a single one-time substitute for a requirement (a3) category D tournament.
b2. Satisfactory performance as a TD at any combination of two (2) Quick/Blitz Chess Category D, D1, or D2 tournaments can be used as a single one-time substitute for a requirement (a3) category D tournament.
b3. Attendance at any TDCC, or USCF approved, problem solving and discussion workshop (not a TDCC business meeting workshop) typically, but not exclusively, offered at a U.S. Open Championship. This TD credit can be used as a single one-time substitute for a requirement (a3) category D tournament.
b4. For any applicant who takes and passes the local TD test (closed book) under supervision at a Category N tournament, the sole experience requirement is satisfactory performance as a Chief TD at one Category D tournament, requirement (a1), of at least three rounds. No substitutions may be made for the Category D tournament. Applicants must contact the USCF two weeks in advance of the tournament to request this option.
c. Only one experience credit as a section chief or chief assistant section chief or assistant section chief is allowed in multiple sectioned tournaments. Multiple tournaments held at the same site on the same dates may be defined as sections of the same tournament. Dual rated tournaments count as Regular rated, not Quick rated, for TD experience credit.
27. Testing Requirement.
Objective test of moderate difficulty designed to measure the applicant’s knowledge of basic rules; or, if the Local TD experience requirements (a-c) are met by a Club TD, scoring 80% or higher on a Club TD test.
TD TIP: The passing grade for all TD exams at all levels, except for Club, is 80%. For more information on how a Club TD automatically is upgraded to a Local TD, see paragraph 25.
28. Limitations.
A local TD may not be the Chief TD for Category N or Category I tournaments and should not be the Chief TD of Category A or B tournaments, which includes any tournament, or section of a tournament, expected to draw more than 100 players. Computer assisted local TDs can be the Chief TD of any tournament, or section of a tournament, expected to draw up to 120 players with the aid of one assistant TD.
TD TIP: FA (not IA) norm experience credit may be available at Category I tournaments to Local TDs that act as assistant TDs under the direct supervision of a chief TD who is either an IA or FA and is on site throughout the event. Contact the USCF for details.
29. Expiration.
Four-year renewable term: The testing requirement for re-certification is waived for a local TD with satisfactory performance as the chief or chief assistant TD of four tournaments or a minimum of a single section at four different tournaments during the four-year term.
The usual rule of thumb in online testing is that you need at least 10X the number of questions on a test in the question bank to place a test online. My wife works with online testing at the University of Nebraska, she says 15X is a better number if students are allowed to take the test more than once within a month.
That’s a lot of questions and answers for someone (TDCC, most likely) to have to generate.
There are a number of online testing software packages, but most of them have a hefty price tag.
What if you run a tournament where one of the sections is a Swiss and others are quads? does this satisfy one of the Swiss requirements?
What if a TD runs quads or round robins in Swiss format? Does this satisfy the Swiss requirement?
I think what Micah is referring to is that he has a tournament where he was the chief TD where there were three sections (14 players). Two sections were quads, one section was a 6-player swiss. Micah was asking if he would get credit for this tournament.
I would say that he would, but only for the 6-player swiss section, so this would be treated as one tournament credit towards his 3 and 6 players towards his 50.
I checked–IMHO, no you don’t. Quads are quads, RRs are RRs, etc. They have to be submitted as a Swiss to count.
You have been the chief of a 9 player Swiss. You have been the chief assistant of two Swisses: 22 players and 14 players. So, that is 45 players total. The Quads do not count towards the total. However, that is only my opinion as per the regulations as I understand (and have authored) them. If you want to influence the office to count the quads (they administer the exam without much TDCC input), please feel free to do so.
List it as a TD experience requirement with the office and see what happens. IMHO, it may (and probably will) meet the regulations here. If you get denied you can…
Appeal to the TDCC.
Direct, as the chief or asistant TD, any event with 5 or more players and re-apply for the exam.
The point to requiring someone to run three Swiss events involving at least 50 players is to demonstrate that they have some minimal experience with doing Swiss pairings, or at least reviewing the Swiss pairings done by a computer.
Since any RR event, including a Quad, does not require that the TD make or review pairing decisions (color allocation, having an odd number of players in a score group, etc.), a RR should not count as a Swiss for TD certification purposes.
I have been the longtime chair of the TDCC (currently Jeff Wiewel is the chair and I am the vice chair–an arrangement that all parties concerned are happy with). I wrote those regulations.
IMHO:
A TD games the system and passes an exam they don’t have the experience qualifications for. They live up to the TD certification they gamed the system for.
A TD games the system and passes an exam they don’t have the experience qualifications for. They experience one or more complaints to USCF. They are guilty. They get disciplined.
A TD games the system and passes an exam they don’t have the experience qualifications for. They do not live up to the certification. The players do not complain, they just stop attending the events run by this TD.
A TD games the system and passes an exam they don’t have the experience qualifications for. They do not live up to the certification. A few players don’t mind–don’t complain–they get to play chess.
I can live with all four. BTW: number one is very common in my experience.
I hesitate to disagree with my most distinguished colleague, but I do note item 19 in the current tournament director certification rules:
I do believe that the “SMALL SWISS” section of the “March 2014 PCC Quad 45” would count toward Local TD credit, as it is a six player Swiss system section. Perhaps it is accidental that there was a swiss section in a tournament intended to be quads, but so it happened.
It might be possible that credit for that section would be denied because the entire event was not a Swiss system tournament. However, that is not my reading of rule 19. For that one section, you did have to perform the tasks related to running a Swiss (notably, making pairings, assigning colors).